Why Poetry? Why Prose? It's why I am here.
I have always loved words! I LOVE them, especially the written word; it illuminates the senses and courses through my every cell. I've always been grateful for them. They are a necessary nourishment.
Words.
They saved me, more than once! Yes, they saved me from the pits of heartbreak and trauma and utter despair. Without them, I would have not survived or emerged from the darkest places in life to see the light of peace or the light of joy or the light of forgiveness.
I began writing poetry very early in life. The fun part of poems was inspired by an aunt who shared her favorites and would create poems about our adventures together on the family ranch. The introduction of poetry painted pictures of horses, dogs, and all precious critters. It made memory of silly shenanigans and life’s hilarity. Being able to return to them and stitch them on the page, would mean being revived down the road when finding a smile was most difficult. What I didn’t know: beyond the fun and laughter I had had while playing with words and rhyme, my childlike introduction to poetry was just a fragment of what these words could do, and would do in keeping me alive. They would express the distress— be the catharsis, the debridement, the poultice, and the salve. They would be exactly what I needed to move through an abyss of tears and the soul bleeding that life’s experiences would bring. The glory beyond that, in the now, is that the words, my life’s words, were the written prayers that extraordinarily ransomed me.
So, journey with me, if you will. This newsletter will be largely poetry-centered, though places for prose are planned as well. My life’s poetry, and some from others who have inspired my walk with words, will be proffered here. This is a writing space meant for connection in this experience of living, to lift voice to be heard, to sit at a table together sharing a meal, to travel in another person’s shoes –or words— and to come out on the other side satiated with more understanding, more compassion, more empathy, more unity, and most importantly, more LOVE.
If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check out my About and the Menu pages. Access to them is at the top of this newsletter!